Regular readers will know that we urged our clients to buy before the UK Election earlier this year (see here to read what we said). Recent deals have included a family house and a 2 bedroom flat in the rapidly improving Earls Court (SW5). Since Mr Cameron’s victory in said Election, it’s been interesting to see how fast the market has changed. Buyers are now in a panic and sellers are again testing the market with ‘optimistic’ prices. Sadly, these optimistically priced (sounds more polite than ‘over priced’) are sitting on the market with very few viewings, whereas the sensibly priced ones are attracting offers and deals are being done. This standoff between buyers will only result in more activity if one side blinks first. Will the panic of missing out drive buyers to pay slightly more than they planned to, or will it dawn on sellers that the Mansion Tax disappearing hasn’t really made their home worth 15%-20% more overnight?
We recently secured a 2 bedroom apartment for a client in Earls Court, SW5. Originally advertised for £815,000, we managed to secure it for £767,000 days before the Election. Whilst it requires some updating, it’s hard to see how this won’t be a fantastic purchase for our client when you consider that very similar flats are being marketed at c.£900,000. We won’t harp on about how we managed to secure such a good price, but if you would like to speak to us, without obligation, get in touch!
As property finders in Kensington and Chelsea, we speak to over one hundred agents each month, enabling us to gauge the sentiment ‘on the street’. Currently, there are many buyers chasing flats in Earls Court (SW5) and the area around Gloucester Road (SW5 and SW7). Chelsea (SW3 and SW10) is busy as is Pimlico (SW1). Kensington (W8) and Holland Park (W14 and parts of W11) are seeing record viewings but fewer deals agreed and family houses over £5m are a hard sell anywhere at the moment. Basements are being routinely overvalued across K&C so they are sticking on the market,but third and fourth floor walk ups (flats with no lift) are still seeing plenty of bargain hunters making bids who are prepared to combine getting fit with getting home.
The SDLT revamp announced on December 4th last year has meant that the cost to change has increased for many who may have previously considered selling their property and this lack of supply has meant the upwards pressure on prices remains, but beware of overpricing as the gains are a few % points, not the 15% or 20% as reported in the press.
If you would like more information on our services or an informal discussion about your property search, please get in touch. Close to half the property we secure for our clients is never offered on the open market. Get in touch
